Cupertino community shows strong support for Apple Campus 2 at meeting

The Cupertino City Council and Planning Commission held a joint study session Oct. 1 that saw residents, former elected officials and the business community pack the city's Quinlan Community Center to hear about Apple Inc.'s long-awaited ringed mega-campus.

Glowing support for the project was everywhere, as the study session was the first serious opportunity for residents to go on record in front of Cupertino elected officials. When individuals took to the microphone, they didn't hold back in their excitement and enthusiasm for the project.

Members of the business community, local Chambers of Commerce and the Silicon Valley Minority Business Consortium urged city leaders to approve the project quickly. Some residents referred to the campus proposal as a "once-in-a-lifetime event."

"We're thrilled to see a local, homegrown company planting even deeper roots in Cupertino and the broader community of Silicon Valley," said Shiloh Ballard of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Support was not limited to those connected to the Chamber or business community. Speakers included representatives from the Cupertino Post Office, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Recology Cupertino, Cupertino Historical Society, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, and former Cupertino mayors and council members.

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"This is going to be a huge boon for us," said Barbara Perzigian, general manager of the Cupertino Inn, located on N. De Anza Boulevard just north of Highway 280 and a stone's throw away from Apple's Infinite Loop campus. "I see this as something that is going to bring tourists in and help us with business on the weekends."

Longtime Cupertino residents also gave high praise. Ed Hirshfield, a 50-year resident who lives near the project site, said he does not expect traffic to be any better or worse than when Hewlett-Packard and Tandem Computers operated at full capacity in the same area and when fewer people carpooled or bicycled to work.

"There were lots and lots of people who drove during that time, probably 100 percent," Hirshfield said. "I believe the traffic density will not be greater. It was not objectionable then."

The 176-acre campus will take over much of the former Hewlett-Packard campus bounded by Pruneridge Avenue, Homestead Road, N. Wolfe Road and N. Tantau Avenue. The project will see the demolition of roughly 2.66 million square feet of existing office, research and development buildings and the construction of 3.42 million square feet of new office space, as well as a 1,000-seat auditorium, fitness center, valet parking center, utility plant and parking structure.

Dan Whisenhunt, Apple's director of real estate and facilities, detailed the key aspects of the project during a short presentation.

Apple employees are currently spread across 80 buildings in Cupertino, with about 3,000 calling the main Infinite Loop campus home. The new campus will see the 16,000 Apple employees in the city grow to 24,000 upon completion, Whisenhunt said.

Whisenhunt said the formerly asphalt-covered campus will become 80 percent green space with plenty of nods to Santa Clara Valley's agricultural past. Roughly 300 species of trees will be planted and many of those trees are already growing in nurseries across California, he added.

A large portion of the study session focused on the final environmental impact report and traffic studies done for the project. Traffic flow--particularly around Highway 280 and N. Wolfe Road--is expected to be discussed heavily at upcoming meetings.

The first round of approval and discussion took place on Oct. 2 when the Cupertino Planning Commission took its first look at the project. The Cupertino City Council will review and possibly give final approval on Oct. 15.

A second reading of ordinances is also tentatively set for Nov. 19. All meetings are open to the public and begin at 5 p.m.

If approvals go smoothly, Whisenhunt told the audience that employees could occupy the campus in 2016 after 32 months of construction.

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